Changes
by emilybuj
Summary: 5 years after Blaine cheats on Kurt and the two drift apart, a chance encounter gives the men the opportunity to reconnect. However, 5 years can change a man's life. Can Kurt accept the changes Blaine has made? Is he willing to change himself? And can Blaine learn to put the past behind him?
1. Chapter 1

"Abigail Anderson! You are going to be late for school!" Blaine was rushing around his apartment, like he did every Monday morning; when he realized that he had almost put his tuna sandwich in Abby's princess lunchbox instead of her turkey and cheese– an offense that would not be tolerated again.

A small girl with curly blonde hair shuffled into the kitchen wearing a denim skirt, rainbow knee socks, a green t-shirt and a pink jacket. Her white sneakers were still untied and her hair ... an absolute mess.

"Daddy I keep askin' you to fix my hair and you just keep yellin'!" the child said with a hint of sass, and a hand on her hip.

Blaine sighed, putting down the lunch boxes, and took the hair tie from his daughter's small hand, and carefully pulled up the mass of hair into a high curly ponytail.

"There you go baby," he said, kissing the girls forehead before turning back to getting himself together for the day. "Now go get your backpack, or we'll both be late and Uncle Wes will have me fired." As the little girl ran off to her room, once tripping over her shoelaces, Blaine yelled "And tie up those shoes miss!"

An onlooker would consider the events happening in the Anderson's apartment chaotic and frantic, but this Monday morning was not all that different than the rest. Blaine had a bad habit of forgetting to set his alarm earlier on Mondays after letting himself and his daughter sleep in all weekend. The two of them could sleep until three in the afternoon if they were allowed. Waking up early for school and work became a challenge, especially on Mondays.

Blaine put his paperwork in his official 'Westerville Records' messenger bag, along with his laptop, as Abby skipped back into the kitchen. "I'm ready Daddy."

"Good," Blaine said as he leaned down to kiss his daughter's forehead again before he slung the bag over his shoulder. "Let's go!" He took his child's tiny hand and walked her out of the apartment, stopping to lock the door.

"You know Abs, next year when you go to Kindergarten you'll get to take the school bus," he explained as one of the yellow vehicles picked up some children in front of their apartment complex.

"You mean we won't walk to school anymore?" Abby asked with big brown eyes, seemingly upset by the concept. "But I LIKE walkin' with you, Daddy," Abby continued, looking up at her father.

Blaine laughed, and squeezed his daughter's hand. "God I hope that never changes," he muttered to himself. "Someday you're going to be embarrassed by your dad," he told his little girl.

"I'm embarrassed by you now," Abby said sassily.

Blaine narrowed his eyes, "Your Uncle Wes told you to say something like that didn't he?"

A sly smile crossed Abby's face, and even with every attempt to hide it, it was clear who had influenced this innocent sarcasm. "No…" she uttered between giggles.

"Abigail…" Blaine said, in an equally joking tone. "Are you lying to me?" He reached down and tickled her sides, something that would cause her to squirm and, hopefully, rat out Wesley.

"OK, OK!" Abby said before Blaine could really get to tickling her. "Uncle Wes said that it's not lying 'cause you're embarrassin' to everybody." She explained, "But I told him I still love you most. More than him and Uncle Cooper put together. "

"Glad to hear it," Blaine said with a chuckle. He mussed up his little girl's bangs, not sure how to react to Wes corrupting his daughter. They headed toward the school.

As they turned the corner, a playground came into view beyond a row of trees, a large number of children were playing and running through the open field behind a small brick building. The sign in front read 'Kinder Care Learning Center', and when they reached that sign, Abby was clearly ready to go off running, but held back, knowing she wouldn't be able to play until she said goodbye to her dad.

Blaine bent down on one knee and hugged his daughter. "Have fun today Abs. I'll pick you up after school," he kissed her forehead. "I love you," he said, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"I love you too, Daddy," Abby said with a smile, hugging her dad again and kissing him on the lips. "Tons and tons," she promised.

She skipped off over to her teacher, a tall brunette, who looked back to wave at Blaine to let him know Abby was taken care of then took Abby's ninja-turtle backpack and princess lunchbox before the child ran off to play on the playground.

Blaine usually stood to watch his daughter for a few moments, smiling to himself as she swung on the monkey bars or played tag with the other children. Today she climbed to the top of the play set and was singing songs with a few other children when she looked back over to where Blaine was standing. She blew him a kiss, which Blaine pretended to catch, and tuck it securely in his pocket.

Blaine had been doing the 'dad' thing for four years now, and every day he felt more and more blessed. His little monster was a huge surprise from a drunken encounter with one of his dad's coworker's daughters (One of the ones that supposed to make him straight). He took complete responsibility for the child, even when her mother wouldn't. He had to drop out of college, move into an apartment and get a job, find somebody to take care of the baby when he was working. It was not easy. It still wasn't. At first, Blaine simply got a job as a waiter. It was enough to pay for a one-bedroom apartment, as well as a sitter for Abby – seeing as his parents were not going to help or support him. Some months he barely made it. He called in a few favors from his brother, used all the money set aside for his college, and made it through. Now, Abby was in Pre-K, and Blaine was lucky enough to have a friend with a business degree and a love of music. Wes started Westerville Records after he graduated from business school, and hired Blaine on the spot with a promise of better pay and better hours so he could properly raise his daughter. However, it came with the price of trying to get a business on its feet and sometimes having enough to get by, and other times struggling.

Recently, the company hadn't been doing too well. One of the girls Wes had been working with exclusively had dropped out halfway through recording an EP and needless to say they had lost a significant amount of money during the encounter. Luckily Blaine managed to get himself a few students to teach guitar once a week for extra cash. Otherwise, he was pretty sure he'd be moving back in with Wes or borrowing more money from Cooper. He never let any of the financial burden or stress worry Abby though. Every now and then there would have to be a 'no' when she asked for a new toy, but that was never a big deal. Blaine always made sure his daughter was taken care of first, before anything else.

Blaine walked another half mile down to a busier part of town and stepped through the door of Westerville Records.

"Hey man," Wes said climbing down from a ladder behind the counter, just having placed some old records on the high shelves.

"G'morning," Blaine replied, walking through the stacks of sheet music and around a few guitars on display – instruments Wes bought cheap to sell for profit. "How's things?" he asked walking into his and Wes' office, but leaving the door open so he could hear.

"Same as yesterday," Wes said, nearly monotone. "It's the same every day. If we don't find somebody that wants to record, then we may as well close shop tomorrow." Wes sighed heavily. He had such big dreams for the place, and none seemed to be within reach. "I mean, I'm well aware that there are not too many big stars out in Westerville Ohio, but we have to start small too. Yeah, I'd love to go right to NYC or LA and just be able to open a place like this up, but there is way too much competition. We wouldn't last a second."

Blaine sighed too, "Yeah I know." He looked around. "We have plenty of people coming in for music and repairs though, so it's not all bad," he suggested, trying to remain optimistic.

"Blaine… we both know it's not good. I know you've started giving lessons again. Abby told me," he raised an eyebrow.

"You can't keep my pay up above what's necessary just because I have a 4 year old, Wes. The lessons AREN'T a big deal," Blaine promised his best friend. "Just a little extra spending cash. The less I take from this place the better. I'm not going to let you keep cutting your own wages and not mine." Blaine turned on his laptop.

"Blaine you're absolutely insane," Wes reminded his friend. "I don't know how you juggle all this. And put up with me and this business. I'd have given up."

"Don't speak too soon…" Blaine sat in the chair at his desk, the one on the right side of the office located behind the counter. He typed in his password and waited for things to get warmed up. "Do you mind if I leave to get Abby at 4? I'll come back and stay until 6 tonight, but I just can't scrounge up the cash to pay for after care. And no, that's NOT me asking for a raise."

Wes rolled his eyes, then sighed, knowing the fight over Blaine's wages wasn't one worth having. "Blaine, is Abby ever a problem?" he asked seriously, walking into the office, and going to his computer to place a few orders. "Of course you can bring her here. I haven't seen the little turd in weeks anyway."

Blaine smiled. Even though it was hard sometimes, he really was lucky. After all the years of torment, he managed to get to a place where he was generally happy. He worked with his best friend on a daily basis. He got paid to work with music and musicians. He had the most beautiful daughter in the world. There wasn't a whole lot more he could ask for.

The bells attached to the door of the shop rang as a tall and somewhat lanky man walked in; wearing what appeared to be high-end clothing. Blaine hopped up out of his desk to see if the customer needed help, as he usually did. However, Blaine stopped in his tracks when he got a better look at the man. He definitely did not look like a regular Westerville citizen; next to anybody else around town he would stick out like a sore thumb. His shoes matched his shirt perfectly: Blaine didn't even KNOW shoes came in that shade of purple. And the vest that he wore over the collared shirt seemed to be made specially to match an expensive looking shoulder-bag. Blaine raised an eyebrow at the character. He knew him. He knew him well. But what he was doing in Westerville, Blaine couldn't be sure.

He walked in and began casually browsing some sheet music, and admiring some of the framed albums on the wall. He was humming to himself and smiling, a habit of his Blaine used to love. He was happy to see he never stopped. Blaine wasn't sure if he wanted to be noticed by this particular customer, however. It had been 5 years, and Blaine assumed that he would have moved on by this point, but he still wasn't sure if he could face him without a wave of guilt flooding over him. Blaine snapped out of his trance, and cursed himself for staring, hoping that it had gone unnoticed by their visitor. He backed away from behind the counter, slipped back into the office, and settled at his desk to browse through some local amateur concerts on youtube. When Wes came back into their office, he hovered over Blaine's shoulder for a few moments.

"May I help you?" Blaine asked.

"Just watching," Wes said, but wasn't referring only to the Youtube clips. "You do realize? Right?"

Blaine looked up at the man for a moment, but just shrugged, and turned back to the computer screen "Yeah… and?" Blaine tried to sound indifferent but his voice cracked.

"So? So you haven't seen Kurt in 5 years and you're just going to hide behind your laptop and pretend he doesn't exist?" Wes asked with a chuckle.

"Wes…" Blaine gave his friend a look, "I… I don't know if I can face him. Besides, so much has changed in the past five years that I can only imagine how much of a stranger he would seem to me. And I would be even more of a stranger to him."

"But what better way to kick off conversation than catching up on 5 years of each other's lives?" Wes asked smartly. "Just go talk to him Blaine! Treat him like a customer. See how he reacts." Blaine didn't move. "Do it or your fired."

Blaine rolled his eyes, and begrudgingly got out of his chair. He reentered the main part of the store, and looked around for the man he used to call the love of his life. Blaine wasn't sure what he could call him now. Probably just Kurt. Not that it was an issue. Blaine had never forgotten about Kurt, but he had moved on. He forced himself to move on for his own sake and the sake of his daughter. It wasn't too hard when Kurt was miles away living his dream in New York City. It gave Blaine the chance to rebuild his own dream in Ohio. But now Kurt was back, even just for a moment. And his presence brought back a lot of the pain that Blaine used to feel. And Wesley was forcing Blaine to confront him.

"Uh… can I help you find anything?" Blaine asked, a little tentatively as he stood at the end of the isle where Kurt was browsing. He ignore his sweating palms and the lump forming in his throat, pushing through the mental block that was screaming at him to go back and hide in his office.

"Oh I'm just looking around," Kurt said with a small smile. "Thank…you," he continued, pausing as he lifted his head and realized the identity of the man in the navy blue polo. "Oh my god…" Kurt breathed, his blue eyes brightening at the sight of the Westerville Records Employee.

"Uh… yeah well if you need anything…"

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, interrupting Blaine's attempt to step away from the situation. "Oh my god it's been… what...5 years? What… what are you doing here?"

"Working," Blaine said simply with a chuckle, pointing to the logo embroidered on the left part of his chest. "I'm official."

"I see that… that's… great," Kurt said, still shocked that he ran into Blaine, even though it _was_ his old hometown. "How have you been?" he asked. Kurt could not deny that Blaine looked good, and very grown up compared to high school. He had kicked the hair gel habit and his features had become more defined with age – even after only 5 years.

"I've been good… busy," Blaine admitted with a shrug. "Wes and I started this place up a couple years back and we're still trying to get our feet on the ground but… yeah. Things are good." Blaine smiled slightly, because he honestly did love his life. He wasn't about to tell Kurt about the best parts though. Because those were the things you didn't just drop on a person after not talking to them for 5 years. Blaine had no idea how Kurt would react to the fact that he had a daughter, and was pretty sure he didn't need to find out. Kurt was probably just in town for a few days and then headed back to New York anyway. Never to be seen again.

"Oh wow," Kurt said. "That's great for you guys… well I mean starting the business. Not the whole 'still getting started thing'," he clarified looking around. "It helps that you're the only music store in miles that carries full scores for _Wicked._"

"Is that what you're here for?" Blaine asked, "Because I can go grab that for you…"

"Oh," Kurt said, "Yeah I mean… I still want to look around a bit. I told Finn I would pick some music out for the Glee Club kids… did you know he took over New Directions?"

"No I didn't," Blaine said honestly. "That's great," he smiled toward Kurt. After he and Kurt broke up, and Blaine graduated, he lost touch with most of the McKinley kids. He really only retained friendships with Santana and Sam. And Santana really only spoke to him on occasion. Sam probably wouldn't know much about the current state of the New Directions, so Blaine wasn't surprised that he hadn't heard.

"Yeah he's perfect for it," Kurt said. "It's great to see that the club is still going strong over there."

"Definitely," Blaine agreed. He tucked his hands in his pockets. "So uh… I guess I should get back to work… it's really nice to see you Kurt."

"You too…" Kurt said, his voice trailing off. And as Blaine turned to walk away Kurt stopped him, "Hey Blaine?"

Blaine turned around on the ball of his foot to face Kurt once more. "Yeah?" he asked, curious as to why he was being called again.

"Maybe we should go out for coffee or something… I mean… to catch up. I'm going to be in Lima until late January, so there's plenty of time," Kurt offered to Blaine, while a slight, charming smile made its way up to Kurt's eyes.

Inside Blaine panicked a little bit. He wasn't sure if he could handle being with Kurt for more than a few minutes at a time again. And Blaine hadn't really been out with anyone since Abby was two. The palm sweat was back, though Blaine continued to ignore it. "Um… yeah… maybe," he said with a shrug, though his heart began racing at the thought of sitting down and really talking with Kurt again.

Kurt's smiled made it all the way to his eyes as he nodded, pleased with the response. He reached into his bag and grabbed his wallet. He took out a card and handed it to Blaine. "My number's changed a few times… well… I doubt you still have the first one anyway…" Kurt rambled a little awkwardly. "Uh… but yeah. Give me a call… and I guess I'll take that score now."

Blaine looked from the card, up at Kurt, and then back at the card. It was very professional, and well done. His name was scrawled across the top in purple cursive, with 'fashion design and consulting' scrawled underneath in the same font, but smaller and a lighter purple. His contact information was beneath that. Blaine stared at the card for a moment, before Kurt snapped him out of it by asking for the Wicked score. "Of course," he said, going behind the counter and into the office to get the score while Kurt picked up a few more things. Blaine rung him up at the register quite quickly, as part of him wanted Kurt to get our as soon as possible.

Kurt smiled as he left though, turning to Blaine and saying, "I'll see you soon." Blaine stared as he walked away, and he finally felt like he could breathe again.

"He looks good," Wes said, leaning on the doorway to the office, having watched the entire encounter.

"Yeah," Blaine breathed sadly, still sorting out his emotions.

"Are you going to call him?"

Blaine looked down at the card that he had left on the counter, he picked it up, studied it again. Without answering Wes, he pocketed it. He didn't know what he wanted to do yet.

"We'll see…"


	2. Chapter 2

Blaine sat behind the front desk of Westerville records, ordering new shipments of reeds and guitar picks – the little things that usually sold out fast. Wes was in the recording studio conducting a consultation with an amateur vocalist, seeing if she had what it takes to really make it somewhere in the music business. Sure, they would let her rent their studio either way, but the question was did Blaine and Wes want to put their businesses' name on her.

Blaine hoped that this girl showed at least some promise. It would be nice to have a big project to work on. It would be nice to write a few songs for another EP. Blaine loved being involved in the making of a record. He had long wanted to be the voice on the track, but now adored being the man who made it all happen for somebody else. It was the same reason he loved being a father. Blaine simply loved to be the support system – the man behind the scenes.

Blaine continued his duties; however, since he promised Wes that he would keep his post and not interrupt the consultation this time. They needed somebody at the front desk anyway. Customers still came in sporadically. And sure enough just a few moments later a familiar face walked in wearing an equally flashy outfit as the previous time Blaine saw him. Today this included a navy blue trench coat with gold embellishments, tight tan pants, and brown loafers. If there was one thing Kurt knew how to do, it was make a fashion statement.

"Good afternoon," Kurt sang with a little skip in his step. "Happy Thursday."

Blaine mustered a smile, and a friendly "Hello" - unsure how he felt about seeing Kurt again so soon. He wasn't even completely sure what he was doing back in the shop. Blaine was sure he had made his purchases, gave Blaine his card, and went on his way – perhaps never to be seen again. Though there was something that brought Kurt back to the store and back into Blaine's mind.

Blaine had barely managed to stop thinking about Kurt once he saw him. He couldn't stop thinking of how much older he looked, and wonder how he was doing. Somewhere deep down he knew he wanted to grab the business card from his wallet and give Kurt a call and talk for hours on end like they used to. But Blaine also knew that while he wanted all this, it couldn't happen, and he really didn't want to know how Kurt was. Blaine worried that if he let himself talk to Kurt, he would find out he's changed to drastically… or possibly worse, find out he hasn't changed at all and get reattached. Blaine also worried about what Kurt would think of the changes to his life. Blaine wasn't sure he wanted Kurt to know.

People from Blaine's past didn't always understand why Blaine had dropped out of college, even after explaining about Abby. They wanted to know why he didn't put her up for adoption. They tried to convince her they both would have been better off if that were the case. Blaine could have finished school and gotten a "real" career and Abby would be part of a more stable financial environment. Blaine always did his best to convince the naysayers that they were wrong, but their words often clung to the man and followed him for weeks as he wondered if he really had made the best choice for his daughter. He had stopped caring about his own situation 4 years ago, but the idea that she might have had a better life somewhere else made Blaine angry from time to time. And he was sure it would kill him inside if Kurt turned out to share that opinion. Because in the past, it was always Kurt's opinion which mattered most. Even now, Blaine didn't have one person he completely trusted with anything. Not even Wes, and not even Cooper.

A voice broke Blaine's train of thought. "Is that a recording studio?" Kurt asked curiously. "How did I miss _that_ the other day?"

"Yeah," Blaine said, leaning over the counter to look into the window again. The girl was singing, and Wes was watching her with no particular expression, making it impossible to tell how it was really going. "We're trying to find somebody to sign to our label. It's hard. We're small and don't have all that many resources. We really need a killer voice to get our name… and the singer's name out there."

Kurt nodded, clearly understanding. "That's pretty cool. It's nice that you're not willing to put out a piece of junk either."

"No we're not. We want to be out there on something cool and new and inpiring," Blaine said excitedly, but then sighed sighed, "And it's proving harder than we thought to find the right person for the job."

"Interesting," said Kurt before a prolonged silence followed by a small chuckle. "And I thought you were just working retail. I should have known better than that." Blaine smiled slightly. Kurt had known Blaine wanted to be in the music business. They had shared all their hopes and dreams. Blaine could only imagine what Kurt was assuming when he first saw Blaine in his navy blue polo behind the counter of the small store. Blaine hadn't totally given up on his dreams. He simply adjusted them to fit his new life.

"Anyway," said Blaine, once again snapping out of his small trance, "What are you here for?" he asked in a respectful and professional yet curious manner. The drive from Lima to the store's location wasn't exactly a short one. Probably 45 minutes. So Kurt's reappearance made even less sense to Blaine.

"Oh! Right," Kurt started, shaking his head as if he had completely forgotten what he had come into the store to do. "Finn asked me to pick up some more music. Actually… I forgot to get it Monday but that's beside the point. You know me… I like to get myself sidetracked." Kurt laughed at himself a little, and turned to look at the shelves behind him.

"Well if you need help, you know who to ask," Blaine told him with a smile, expecting the man to turn and begin browsing.

Kurt nodded slightly, as he turned back toward Blaine. "You know though…" Kurt started, " I could easily just tell Finn he could find all this stuff online…"

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Oh no… you've found our secret," he said with a dry and sarcastic tone. "Don't tell everybody or we'll go out of business."

Kurt rolled his eyes but couldn't help cracking a smile at Blaine's joke. "That's not what I was going for," he uttered as if his true purposewas obvious. "I mean… I guess I'm just surprised you hadn't called yet and I really wanted to see if we could catch up. It's weird but… seeing you on Monday felt like getting his by a brick… but in a good way! I mean… it's been so long and I still manage to think of you from time to time. I think we should go get coffee or something."

Blaine was slightly taken aback. He hadn't realized how serious Kurt was about his offer. He had even come all the way back to the store to confront him about it. Blaine's heart ached slightly at the sweetness of the gesture, but his mind was reeling. "I'm… not so sure if that's a great idea," Blaine said after a slight hesitation.

Kurt's smile melted away a bit, and a look of confusion crossed his face. "Oh…" he whispered, his voice tinted with disappointment. "Well… do you mind telling me why not?" he asked with a mixture of playfulness and resentment, which Blaine found difficult to compute. Blaine wasn't sure how Kurt was reacting to the clearly unexpected rejection because his emotions seemed to oppose each other and mask his true feeling.

"I mean I'd love to but… I can't. There's… there's a lot going on in my life right now and…" Blaine started.

"You know I didn't mean it like a date or anything," Kurt cut in with clarification.

Blaine shrugged, then nodded continuing, "Ok. Even so, I just wouldn't be able to."

"Physically or emotionally?" Kurt asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "I mean I know we didn't end on even remotely good terms Blaine, but…"

"Kurt it's nothing like that I swear! It has nothing to do with you or not wanting to talk to you," Blaine started, when he was cut short by Wes exiting the recording studio with the tall blonde he had entered with earlier. Kurt and Blaine both turned to watch as Wes walked her to the door. Wes was politely and kindly explaining that he would have to think about it and talk it over with his business partner, and they would give her a call regarding their decision as soon as possible. When she finally walked out the door, Wes turned to see Kurt standing at the counter with Blaine.

"Sorry… am I interrupting something?" he asked with a sly smile. Blaine just rolled his eyes. Wes took a few steps toward the men and stuck his hand out toward Kurt to shake. "Nice to see you, Hummel."

"As it is to see you, Montgomery," Kurt replied, mocking the way Wes insisted on calling him by his last name. He reached out his hand and shook it. He was slightly surprised the Warbler had remembered him after all this time- even if Kurt had spent a short stint at Dalton. Before Blaine could even get a word out, Kurt asked, "So it didn't go well?"

"No, it did not. Have you ever heard the sound of an elephant giving birth?" Wes asked.

"…no…" Kurt answered.

"Me either," Wes explained, "But if I had to guess, that singing was pretty close." Wes didn't need a reply as he went into his office and shut the door, probably to go write out a note that he could read to the girl over the phone. One that was nice enough not to crush her dreams, but clear enough to keep her from coming back and trying again. Blaine had to laugh slightly at Wes' joke, but disappointment shone on his face.

"You guys will find somebody," Kurt promised Blaine. "It's just a matter of time."

Blaine nodded, knowing Kurt didn't fully understand how important it was for Blaine that they find a recording artist. The bills were starting to catch up and Christmas was only a couple months away. And Blaine knew he wouldn't be able to explain to a five year old why she was going to have to wait a few more weeks to get her Christmas gifts – especially since what she really wanted was to go to New York to visit her Uncle Cooper and the Statue of Liberty.

"Anyway…" Kurt said with a slight sigh, "I guess I shouldn't push the matter any further. But I just want to say before I go that you look really great, and I hope for the best for you and this company." His smile was clearly genuine, but his eyes still shone with a bit of disappointment. "But I feel like I came across this store for a reason beyond sheet music. And if you change your mind… I'll be in Lima until the end of January and you have my number."

"Thanks Kurt," Blaine said, with a small smile back, hoping the man wasn't too upset with him. They had departed on bad terms once, and Blaine knew this departure was preferable to the last, but the disappointment in Kurt's eyes seemed the same as before. Just less angry.

Kurt purchased a few scores for Finn before actually leaving. Blaine couldn't help but wonder if Kurt was lingering longer in the store in hope that his mind would be changed. To avoid letting the And when the front door closed Wes bolted out of his office. "Why won't you go have coffee with the man?" he asked seriously.

"Good afternoon to you too," Blaine replied to the sudden questioning without looking up.

"Blaine…" Wes said, the same way his mother used to when she was expecting an explanation.

"Wes, he's my ex for a reason! You don't just go and casually grab a coffee with your ex. Even if it's my fault we're exes in the first place, I'm not exactly a fan of reliving that experience. Or worse, get reattached. Because when I get attached to something, Abby gets attached too," Blaine explained with a sigh. "I just don't think it's the right time for me to put myself in that situation where basically any outcome is going to be uncomfortable."

Wes shook his head, "I'll never understand your logic Anderson. My advice is to cut yourself a break and just go catch up. It won't hurt."

Blaine didn't look Wes in the eyes as his coworker turned back into his office, but instead looked out the storefront where Kurt was ducking into his car. Blaine sighed and tore his eyes away, hoping that he'd be able to forget that the encounters had ever truly happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Blaine was in his usual navy blue 'Westerville Records' polo and a pair of kakis, manning the front desk while Wes was out perusing local open mic nights for talent. Normally Blaine was the one looking for the talent, seeing as he tended to have a better eye for it, but tonight he wanted to spend with Abby, who was currently sitting behind the counter, digging through a large box of guitar picks, and laying them out in front of her like a mosaic. Her blonde curls kept falling to her face, but she refused to let her father help pull back her hair. "Daddy!" she would insist, "I can do it myself!"

Blaine always just shook his head and smiled at his little girl's independence. He was one to let her figure things out on her own as long as it would not hurt her. She picked out her own clothes and often did her own hair. Blaine still had to help her with that a lot though, because her blonde curls were pretty thick and hard to handle.

Blaine sat up on a stool looking down at his daughter as she played. He wanted to crawl down on the floor with her and play along, but he couldn't leave the counter unmanned. But he was content to just watch her play as she intermittently told her father how her day at school went. Apparently she had drawn a picture of a duck and learned about the letter Q.

It was fairly quiet in the store. Blaine had put on some music in the background and now and again he or Abby would sing along. Abby was a fairly quiet child though and never really rambled as some children did, and as soon as she realized her father was listening to her singing she would stop despite his insisting. She did not like the attention, which Blaine found odd since he always seemed to be fighting for it, especially as a kid. The quietness led Blaine to quietly think to himself, about his day, week, life. He would stare out the window and watch people pass holding hands and nuzzling up against each other in the brisk Ohio weather. He tried not to think much of it, especially since he had a certain blonde in his life to cuddle.

Blaine often found himself having one sided conversations with himself, or even with Abby – answering the questions before the little girl could actually respond. It was like he couldn't stand the quietness, and had to fill it with something. That's why Blaine had always loved music in the first place – it got rid of the sickening loneliness that came with the silence that haunted him through many of his family dinners growing up. It filled the emptiness that the silence between him and his parents created. It was his only constant companion as Abby was growing up. He had realized recently just how much he was trying to fill his voids with music and one-sided conversations.

Abby stood up, and rest her elbows on her dad's knees and put her hands on her cheeks as she gazed up at him. "Daddy…" she started, a serious look in her hazel eyes. "Can I ask you sumthin?"

Blaine smiled at the big serious eyes Abby was giving him, and looked back at her sweetly as he tucked her loose curls behind her ears, and bent down to kiss her forehead. "Of course you can princess."

Abby smiled and scrunched up her face at Blaine's kiss, and giggled when he called her princess. She looked back up at her father and asked, "Daddy, is you sad?"

A look of confusion washed over Blaine and he cocked his head to the side a little. "What makes you ask that?"

Abby shrugged, "You're quieter than usually." She pointed out. "And when I'm sad I'm quieter than usually too… and I just want you to not be sad because I love you and I like it when you're not sad." The hazel eyes that matched Blaine's bore into the man with sincerity, but all he could do was laugh.

"Oh Abs, I'm not sad. Daddy's just… stressed."

"What's stressed?" the girl asked with squinted eyes, as if she didn't quite believe it was an actual thing.

Blaine took a moment to think of how to explain to his daughter how he felt lately before explaining to the child, "Daddy's been doing a lot of work here at the store and he doesn't get a lot of time to rest or have fun right now."

"But we have fun _all_ the time!" Abbie insisted, still not convinced.

Blaine smiled at his daughter, and pushed her curls back again. "You're right. We do," he promised her, "But when I'm not with you I have tons and tons and TONS of work to do. And some of it isn't fun. So it makes me tired, and yes, sometimes kind of sad. But it's not a bad thing. I promise."

Abby listened intently, and then very seriously and said, "Well you should start havin' fun when I'm not around." Her solution to the problem was so simple, and Blaine wish he knew how to do that. The little girl sat back down indian-style behind the counter, and continuing her mosaic. Her concern about her father had been washed away as she had fixed the problem in her mind.

Blaine sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck, which was becoming progressively more stiff as each day passed. He was uncomfortable that his stress was beginning to show to his daughter. It was something he liked to keep away from her as much as possible. And if she started to become stressed because he was stressed, Blaine would hate himself. He took a moment to look at the big clock on the wall behind him. "Stay here Abby I need to close up," he told the child as he slipped off his stool.

It was nearing 8 Oclock, the store's closing time (as well as Abby's bed time). Blaine always felt kind of bad when he kept Abby cooped up in the store, even if she never seemed to mind. Blaine walked up to the front of the store to flip off the 'open' sign and lock the door so he could close down the registers. He closed the blinds to the storefront window and fixed some of the merchandise on the shelves so it wouldn't have to be rearranged in the morning. And when he finally got back to closed the registers Blaine let out a small chuckle at his littler girl who was sprawled out on the floor- fast asleep.

"Is that where he works?" the girl waiting for him asked.

"Yes Mercedes," Kurt said simply, sighing a little as he watched the blinds of the storefront close from across the street.

Mercedes laughs and shakes her head. "Boy, you're crazy," she says, "You do realize this is borderline stalking?"

Kurt shrugs, and looks at his best friend. "It's not my fault the club you wanted to go to is just down the road from his store!" It was like life kept bringing Kurt back here, and he still wasn't sure why. He was convinced that some cosmic forces were trying to reunite him with Blaine. Maybe not as lovers as they once were, but Kurt really at least wanted a chance to know his best friend again. That, and apologize for the way he had acted years ago.

"Kurt, I'm not sure how I feel about watching your ex through the glass of a storefront. We should leave," Mercedes insisted, adjusting her purple short-sleeved jacket.

"I know," Kurt agreed, "I just can't help but think where he would have been if things hadn't ended how they did. I mean for god sakes Mercedes, he's _just_ a step above retail! I thought he was going to end up at NYADA , or on Broadway! Or with a huge record label…"

"And that's supposedly your fault now?" Mercedes asked sassily before Kurt could continue rambling.

"I'm just curious," Kurt mumbled, a bit disappointed that Mercedes cut into his rant, and watching the store for a sign of movement. "His parents basically disowned him. What the hell is he still doing in Westerville Ohio?" He shook his head, and crossed his arms over his chest. Kurt couldn't help but feel like he had something to do with it. Blaine had planned on applying to NYADA, but Kurt didn't know if it actually happened after that final Christmas. They had tried to talk things out, sure. But both felt a clean break would have just been easier, and they hadn't talked since.

"Yeah but staring at him through a storefront isn't going to get you answers, Kurt," Mercedes pointed out.

"I've told you, he rejected my offer for coffee twice… I just don't want him to hate me."

"Kurt I don't think Blaine could ever hate you," Mercedes said laying a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "But if the man wants to be left alone I'm sure there's a reason."

"I just find it hard to believe that even 6 years after the entire fiasco he still isn't ready to talk to me. I mean… HE is the one who cheated after all. I mean there is a certain level of guilt on my part after our big fight on Christmas but…" Kurt trailed off into a sigh.

Kurt rolled his eyes, and leaned down to tie the brown boot that his jeans were tucked neatly into. "And especially after my breakup with Adam… I just felt like running into him was a sign of some sort. Like I was meant to come back to Ohio for a while to recuperate. Like maybe we could at least repair our friendship," he said.

The breakup with Adam had been heartbreaking and threw Kurt off his game more than he could ever imagine. Kurt didn't see any of it coming. He was practically planning their wedding (Meaning he was totally planning their wedding). Adam had been the most incredibly sweet boyfriend during their college years, and fully supported Kurt when he decided to leave NYADA after one semester and start at the Fashion Institute. They had moved in together and everything seemed perfectly fine. But apparently perfectly fine was much too boring for Adam after a couple years of the same routine. And after they parted ways, Kurt found he couldn't bear to stay in his apartment all alone. So he asked his company to work from home for a while and decided to go home to Ohio until he was over the heartbreak, and through the holidays.

Seeing Blaine was not part of his plan. Kurt wanted to forget the past if possible, but somehow seeing Blaine made Kurt remember what it was like to have a best friend. And he felt that maybe reconnecting with Blaine would allow him to feel a little less alone.

Kurt looked back up to see Blaine coming out from behind the building, a huge bundle in his arms. "And it honestly doesn't help that he's probably a thousand times better looking than before," Kurt said pointing toward Blaine.

Mercedes laughed at Kurt. "He _does_ look good," she admitted, "He pulls off the 5oClock shadow look and the fact that after all this time he's finally learned to ease up on the product amazes me."

It was Kurts turn to laugh. His ex's obsession with gel apparently had been forgotten within the past six years. It was weird seeing Blaine that way, but he looked more relaxed and at ease with himself. And he looked older and more professional. And it drove Kurt a little bit crazy for the first few hours after their first encounter.

"What's that he's got on his shoulder?" Mercedes asked, seeing that he was carrying a large mass covered by his coat.

"I don't know. Maybe some stuff he's got to bring home?" Kurt guessed with a shrug. "I wouldn't exactly know since he won't really talk to me." Kurt stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned on his heel as he linked arms with Mercedes so they could walk in the opposite direction down the street toward the club.

Mercedes gave Kurt's arm a light squeeze. "You can't do anything about it Kurt. There's clearly something that's keeping him from reliving the past. Maybe it's better that way."

Kurt shrugged "I just feel like he might hate me. Like I might be the reason he didn't end up where he should be. On the stage or in the studio… Maybe I killed his dreams."

"Kurt there has to be something else keeping him here in Westerville Ohio," Mercedes insisted. "A man does not CHOOSE to stay in the town his homophobic family still resides in just for the hell of it. So stop giving yourself such a hard time and let's go have some fun! Ok?"

Kurt smiled, and nodded as Mercedes pulled him along toward the club. A thud of a heavy base was already noticeable and Kurt could feel the worry beginning to slip away already. But he still had a piece of his mind praying to whatever supernatural force might exist that Blaine might give him a call. "Fine. We'll go get a little tipsy and hopefully I can just forget that any of this Blaine nonsense ever happened," Kurt said half sarcastically.

"That's my boy," Mercedes cooed as they reached the entrance to the club. The loud music was simultaneously appalling and inviting. It was time for Kurt to be a little reckless again, maybe meet some new people, and get all these past men off his mind. That should have been the plan all along, he decided. So he stepped in confidently, determined to feel a little less lonely.

Blaine struggled with his keys for a few moments before being able to open the door to his small apartment. He removed the coat which he had draped over Abby and threw it on the couch, proceeding to his daughter's tiny bedroom. He lay her down in bed, not even worrying about changing her into her pajamas at this point.

Abby's hazel eyes fluttered open for a moment as Blaine laid her in her bed. Blaine pulled her star wars sheets over her, followed by her fluffy pink comforter. He tucked Abby's bear – Dexter – under her arm, and kissed her forehead, flicking on a princess castle nightlight before exiting her room.

"Goodnight daddy," a small voice muttered behind Blaine. He smiled, and turned back around toward his daughter.

"Goodnight Abby," he said softly. "I love you."

"Love you too," Abby replied sleepily, rolling over, and passing out again.

Blaine walked back into the living area of his apartment, and put his coat on the coat rack. He went into his fridge and took a slice of cake, needing a snack before bed. He sat down at his kitchen table with a glass of milk and his cake, when he suddenly, out of nowhere, remembered the business card in his wallet.

He took out the paper, and studied it. "Kurt Hummel…" Blaine hummed to himself in between mouthfuls of cake. "What are you doing back in Ohio?" he wondered aloud. He threw the paper aside for a moment, becoming invested in his desert once more. Moments later, however, Blaine picked the paper up and studied it again.

He pulled out his phone and typed in the information, letting his finger hover over 'save contact'. Blaine knew putting Kurt into his phone meant he had intentions to call him sometime. He moved his finger over to the 'cancel' button, then back to the 'save'. And internal battle ensued as Blaine considered what he was actually doing.

"It's been six years Blaine. I'm sure everything's been forgiven at least to some extent. And even your daughter said you need to start having some fun." Blaine looked around his dark, silent apartment. "And you're talking to yourself. You're obviously a little lonely."

Cooper's voice nagged him from the back of his head to go get laid already. Wes's voice was there too: "Cut yourself a break." Blaine shook his head, and pressed cancel. He couldn't do it. 3 of the last 4 guys he dated left him when they realized he had a daughter. The fourth became pretty close to Blaine and Abby, and then left suddenly leaving both extremely heartbroken. Blaine thought Abby was more upset than he was at first. He couldn't go through that again, _especially_ with somebody like Kurt. Even if Kurt said it wasn't a date, Blaine knew fully it would feel like one. It always had felt that way with Kurt, and Blaine suspected it always would. They had tried before to be 'just friends' and it never worked out the way either of them had planned.

Blaine, set the slip of paper aside, deciding that it was best left forgotten at this point. And if he changed his mind later, that was ok. But for now he couldn't bring himself to seriously talk to Kurt. He tried to convince himself of this as he finished his cake, changed into his pajamas, and slipped under the sheets. However, it was hard to argue with the large empty space on the other half of his bed, reminding Blaine of just how lonely his life could be sometimes.


	4. Chapter 4

Blaine tickled his daughter furiously as she thrashed and giggled with a high pitched squeal. "I'VE GOT YOU RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU!" Blaine growled in his 'monster' voice, stopping just for a moment, laughing and allowing Abby to catch her breath, only to begin tickling her again.

"D…D…DADDY!" Abby managed to get out between fits of laughter. "St… STOPIT!"

Blaine finally stopped, though Abby couldn't get rid of her giggles. Blaine smiled widely at his daughter, basking in the happiness she brought to his life. He was always grateful for the little moments he spent with Abby. Her smile was enough to make every day perfect. Days like today, a relaxing Saturday, made Blaine believe he was the luckiest, happiest guy in the world.

"What do you want for breakfast kiddo?" Blaine asked, lifting himself off the couch. He turned to the little girl hanging upside-down on the couch, her curly blonde hair hanging as a tangled mess below her.

"Uhmm…" The little girl said in thought. She contorted her face in the most adorable manner, trying to decide what she was hungry for. When she realized, Abby's face lit up with excitement. She scrambled to sit upright on the couch. "I want Chokit-Chip Pancakes!"

Blaine laughed, "Do you mean _Chocolate_ Chip?"

"Yup, Chok-lit-Chip" Abby corrected herself, smiling widely and kicking her feet back and forth.

"Alright baby," Blaine said, "But only because you were so good this week. And because Uncle Cooper will probably spoil you all day anyway."

Abby's brown eyes widened. "Uncle Coop is vistin'?"" she asked with excitement. Cooper had not been in Ohio for quite a while, but still Skyped Blaine and Abby on occasion. Cooper loved the little girl nearly as much as Blaine did and spoiled her rotten. But Blaine let it be, because being an uncle really changed Cooper's attitude. When he was with Abby, Cooper showed his sensitive, kind, compassionate, down to earth side.

"Yes. Uncle Cooper is coming over," Blaine said, loving the look in his daughter's eyes. "So go get dressed and I'll make you pancakes."

Abby nodded, and scrambled from the couch to her room to dress herself for the day. Blaine had kept Cooper's visit a secret simply because he didn't trust his brother to be able to visit every time he planned. Cooper had picked up some serious acting roles for daytime television and secondary roles in movies. Although not still a household name, Cooper Anderson was becoming more and more well known. He had moved to New York fairly recently for some modeling work, and to work as an extra and some minor roles in a couple of big movies.

Cooper had called the night before though, and promised to be there before noon. And it was currently 11am. So Blaine anticipated his older brother's arrival. As if on cue, there was a buzz coming from the intercom by Blaine's apartment door. Leaving the pancakes for a moment, Blaine took a couple steps then slid over to the intercom in his socks, and pressed the button. "Is that you Coop?" he asked.

"Yeah let me up!" a voice came through. Blaine smiled, and pressed a button which would unlock the door downstairs so Cooper could come up to the third floor.

Abby ran out of her room wearing denim shorts and her blue t-shirt, which was inside out. "Uncle Coop?" she asked, having heard his voice. Blaine laughed at his daughter. "What's so funny?" she asked pursing her lips, and sticking her hands on her hips.

"Baby go fix your shirt. Uncle Cooper is downstairs. He'll be up in a minute," Blaine said. Abby looked down at her shirt, and then ran back to her room upon realizing her error. Then Blaine went back to the pancakes and flipped them, finishing up so that he'd have breakfast ready for all three of them by the time Abby rambled to Cooper about every minute of the past few months she could remember.

Blaine plated the pancakes just as he heard a knock at the door. He wiped off his hands on a towel and walked toward the door, but a short blonde rushed past him with her blue shirt on the right way so a little green frog was visible on the front. When the door opened a tall brunette with pale blue eyes waited, a smile crossing his face which was covered by enough facial hair to disguise himself from afar. "UNCLE COOPUH!" squealed Abby, still unable to fully pronounce her 'R's.

Cooper lifted his niece in the air and hugged her tight. "Hey Bud!" he said spinning the girl around, and not letting her go. "Do you know how much I missed your hugs?" he asked Abby, a soft gleam in his eyes.

"I dunno," Abby said with a shrug and a giggle, hugging Cooper again, her little arms curling around his neck. "Guess what!" the little girl commanded, eyes opening wide. "Daddy made us pancakes for bweakfast"

"Oh my favorite," Cooper said patting his stomach. Then he put Abby back on the ground. "Speaking of your father, I better go say hello to him too huh?" he asked, looking up from Abby to his little brother with a smile.

"Hey Coop," Blaine said, smiling.

"Hey B," Cooper said, taking the step forward to hug his brother and pat him on the back. "I missed you kid."

"I missed you too," Blaine said, releasing Cooper from his embrace.

"Daddy can I eat now?" Abby asked tugging on her dad's white pajama shirt.

Blaine laughed, ruffling Abby's hair which was still a disaster from sleeping the previous night. "Go ahead kiddo. It's on the counter."

"You comin' Uncle Coop?" Abby asked with pleading, excited eyes as she bounced on her toes.

Cooper laughed and said, "I'll come eat in a second." Abby ran off, leaving the brothers to have a moment to talk. Cooper took of his black coat and draped it over the back of the couch in Blaine's living area. "So how have things been bro?" Cooper asked with a smile.

"Good," Blaine said honestly. "Abby is doing pretty well in school. Things at the shop have been going… well they've been going. As long as they keep going they'll be good. With you?"

"Really good," Cooper said with a smile. "I have a lot of jobs, and even the small ones have been great. A lot of producers are getting to know who I am."

Blaine smiled and nodded. Then he asked the question that he knew would be harder. "How's ma and pa?" Blaine constantly wondered how his parents were. After Abby was born and Blaine still expressed his sexuality, his parents shut him out completely. Blaine didn't try to contact them in fear of being hurt once again by his father's words or the way his mother sounded while talking to him. Cooper, however, was a good source of information on the condition of his parents.

"They've been well," Cooper said with a nod. "I think dad is going to retire soon though. He's getting tired."

Blaine nodded. His father would never be too tired to stop working completely though. Blaine knew that. "Well I'm glad. As long as they're still healthy and happy," said Blaine halfheartedly, receiving a pat on the shoulder from Cooper.

"I better go get my pancakes before Abby eats all of mine," Cooper said jokingly, deciding to break the tension that had formed in the room.

Blaine only smiled and nodded in response. He sighed, and ran a hand through his curly hair. "I'm going to change. I'll be back," he said out loud, but to nobody in particular.

Blaine walked into his bedroom and changed into jeans and a plain purple v-neck t-shirt. He looked at himself in his mirror, running his hand under his chin and considering shaving. Upon deciding it could wait another day, Blaine took a moment to put in a pair of contacts before leaving his room and walking back toward his kitchen where Abby and Cooper were chatting over two plates of pancakes. Abby's feet hung freely from the barstool that sat by the counter while coopers nearly touched the ground. He walked over and retrieved his own plate of pancakes, and since his stool was currently occupied by Cooper, Blaine chose to stand at the end of the counter and lean on it while he enjoyed breakfast.

"And now I'm learnin' to count to twenty in Spanish! Wanna hear?" Abby said excitedly to Cooper with a mouth full of pancakes.

Cooper swallowed his bite then said, "As much as I'd love to hear that I don't think your fathers going to like you speaking with your mouth full, even if it is in a foreign language. You can show me after breakfast." Abby nodded in response and swallowed the bite she had taken only to scoop up another mouthful of syrup covered pancakes.

"She's filling you in?" Blaine asked Cooper with a chuckle as he cut his pancakes.

"Oh yeah," Cooper said with a nod, "Everything from trying to tie her shoes, to singing, and to how she helps Wes count money at the store."

"Just the pennies," Blaine explained with a laugh.

"Yeah but I haven't heard a whole lot about you," Cooper said pointing his fork at his brother. He stabbed a piece of pancakes and then said, "I know that you've given me a basic summary but I want to hear what you've been up to!"

Blaine shrugged, pouring syrup over his pancakes. "Well…" he began, "Wes and I are trying to find a new singer to record an EP."

"What happened to Vanessa?" Cooper asked curiously.

"She bailed on us last minute," Blaine explained with a sigh. "We lost a lot of money in the deal and we're finally back to a place where we can afford to pick up with a new artist. It's simply a matter of _finding_ a new artist."

Cooper nodded understandingly. "You know B… you're not bad…," Cooper started to say.

"We've been over this Coop. I'm not going to be the first person to sign in my own record company. I have enough going on with the store and raising a four year old as is," Blaine interjected. His tone was not disappointed, but firm. He knew that his life was not what he had once dreamed, but that was ok. He needed to accept the changes and know that he would not be the famous singer he once dreamed he would be. His new dream now was to be an amazing father and to get Westerville Records off the ground.

"I know," Cooper sighed, "I just thought I'd remind you that you still have an old unpublished EP floating out there." Cooper winked at his brother and scooped up some more pancakes. Blaine only rolled his eyes.

"I hafta go to potty," Abby said, bored with the brother's conversation. She slid down from her stool, and ran off to the small bathroom on the other side of the apartment.

Cooper and Blaine watched the girl run off, and when the bathroom door closed with a click Cooper turned to his brother. "So hows Kurt?" He asked with curiosity and brightness in his eyes. Blaine cocked his eyebrow, wondering how his brother could possible know about a man who Blaine barely knew. But before Blaine could ask, Cooper pulled a business card from his shirt pocket and showed it to Blaine with a sly, accusing smile.

"Where did you find that?" Blaine asked with a sigh, knowing that his brother was going to take it the wrong way.

"You left it here with your mail and you know I get curious when left alone for long periods of tine," Cooper said, waving the paper around a little bit. "You should have just stayed in your pajamas and distracted me. Now spill! "

"He's just came into the shop the other day no big deal," Blaine explained simply. Completely true.

"OK then why do you have his business card?" Cooper asked with a prying tone.

"Because he gave it to me?" Blaine half asked as he made an overly obvious point. Cooper rolled his eyes and gave his brother a look that meant he wasn't happy with Blaine's answer. So after a little huff, Blaine elaborated, "He wants me to get coffee with him some time to catch up."

"Well then you should go get coffee with him!" Cooper said, excitement lighting up his face. It had been ages since he heard anything about Kurt. He knew things had ended badly – and he knew it was very much his brother's fault. But Cooper also knew how much Blaine had beaten himself up for his mistakes and how he's been a totally different man since he and Kurt split.

"You and I both know it's not that simple," Blaine said seriously, just before taking a bite of pancakes.

"Yeah B, it is," Cooper said, looking his little brother straight in the eye. "You're lonely. I can see it in your eyes." Blaine looked down in shame. "You know… I saw that look a lot around the house before I moved out. But after Abby was born you looked… different. But now you're looking lonely again. And that's not ok."

Blaine shrugged, "I have Abby and she's all I really need."

"Yeah let me tell you. I have the most meaningful and thought provoking daily conversations with a four year old too…" Cooper rolled his eyes again when his brother didn't react. "So is he still cute?"

Blaine gave his brother a look that said 'are you really going to make me answer that'? The fact that Cooper's broad smile didn't waiver, Blaine figured he wouldn't let it go. "I dunno," he said, moving his food around on his plate. "Yeah he's still pretty good looking but I don't think…"But before he could finish his thought, Abby ran back into the kitchen, exclaiming how excited she was for the day ahead. "We'll talk about it later," Blaine said. Cooper replied with a nod and a smile.

Cooper closed Abby's bedroom door quietly, having just put her to bed. He had promised to read her a bedtime story, since he would be gone by the morning, and his nice had fallen asleep before he hit page 5. They had a long, eventful day. They went to a small nearby zoo where Abby was chased by a peacock. Traumatized, Abby demanded they leave, so they took her to the movies instead. And after they went to dinner at Johnny Rocket's: Abby's favorite restaurant. They went mini-golfing, and made their way back to Blaine's apartment where the exhausted Abby was now sleeping.

"Thanks for putting her to bed," Blaine said to Cooper as he finally cleaned the dishes from breakfast. They had been sitting in the same spot since Abby ushered Blaine and Cooper out the door for their day of fun before any cleaning could be done.

"Never a problem," Cooper said, rolling up the sleeves of his grey long-sleeved tshirt. "You deserve a break every once and a while." Cooper knew just how hard Blaine worked at keeping his daughter happy, so much so that he often forgot to keep himself happy. The slip of paper with a phone number on it was enough for Cooper to get excited for his brother, and all day it had been eating at him as to why Blaine thought calling the guy and asking him out would be a bad idea. "So now that we're alone…" Cooper said slyly.

"Woah Coop. I think that's incest," Blaine said jokingly as he took a step back and put his hands up defensively.

"Alright, smart ass," Cooper replied glaring at his little brother, "You know what I want to talk about. I've wanted to get it out of you all day!" An excited smile crossed cooper's face and hope lit up his eyes.

"I already told you!" Blaine insisted. "I don't need to do anything about this! Just because Kurt happened to come into the store and thinks catching up is a good idea, doesn't mean it is."

"So you're just going to sit here every Saturday night watching prime time tv alone while your 4 year old sleeps in the next room over?"

"Yeah Cooper," Blaine said definitively. But the Blaine turned away and didn't look at Coop as he answered.

"How many times have you seen him since the first?"Cooper asked slyly.

"Twice," Blaine admitted. Cooper could see his brother breaking – like everything he said made him think about Kurt more, and every question Cooper asked got Blaine slightly closer to admitting it. "And its really hard to see him. Even now. Which is stupid because all the bad stuff happened years ago…"

"Yeah I hardly doubt there's still hard feelings," Cooper said. "I mean obviously, if he's the one who keeps pushing the idea of going on a date…"

"It wouldn't be a date Cooper," Blaine interjected with a quick turn of his head.

"It could be if you want it too," Cooper said as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Blaine only rolled his eyes in response. "Oh, come on B. You know you want to! Even if it's not a date, whatever."

"And you know I can't Cooper," Blaine said, crossing his arms across his chest. "If I were to suddenly become close to Kurt, or anybody for that matter, it wouldn't be fair to Abby."

"You know that's not true Blaine, you can but you won't because you're afraid. You're afraid that every guy is going to do what that asshole did to you last time. Or every guy is going to leave you because you have a 4 year old daughter. This is Kurt fucking Hummel we're talking about here…"

"Coop… if you started dating a girl and she introduced you to her 4 year old, what would you do?" Blaine asked his brother seriously.

After a long thoughtful pause Cooper shrugged and said, "Yeah ok, but that's not the point. I'm a terrible guy and we both know that. I love Abby but I couldn't handle one of my own. Just hear me out, kid." Cooper walked forward and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Blaine looked up at his brother as he said, "You're amazing B, and somebody out there is going to love you more than anybody has ever loved anybody. And it's going to be perfect and amazing and he's going to make you wake up every day with a smile on your face because he treats you like a king and he treats your daughter like the little princess she is. But Blaine… you're not going to find him sitting here watching prime time television alone every Friday and Saturday night." Blaine sighed, and walked out of Cooper's grasp. Cooper sighed in return before saying, "So why shouldn't your first step at least be with someone you've known for years? Somebody you miss and genuinely want to be with?"

"I don't know Coop!" Blaine answered frusterated. "I mean… I guess. It's just… It's been so long. So much has changed and…" but before he could finish his thought Cooper thrust a slip of paper into Blaine's hand.

"Call him," Cooper demanded.

"Right now?" Blaine asked as if it were the craziest request in the world.

"Right now."

Blaine looked back and forth between the slip of paper, and the serious look on his brother's face. "You know," Blaine said as he took his phone out of his pocket, "Sometimes I miss the goofy brother who just stayed out of my business. Now you're all sappy and serious…"

"Just dial the phone, B," Cooper said, the serious expression not leaving his face.

Blaine took a deep breath, and punched in the numbers, then put the phone up to his ear, and waited.


	5. Chapter 5

The ringing seemed to last forever. Once, twice, three times Blaine listened to the rings connecting him to the other line. He did not know why he had given into his brother's pestering. He didn't really know what he was doing calling Kurt. Why wasn't he answering? Was it too late? Blaine turned to look at the clock. It was 8 on a Friday night. Kurt was probably out doing something fun. Hanging out with friends. Something.

Finally the ringing stopped, but not because Kurt answered. Instead, a greeting in Kurts voice politely told Blaine he wasn't available, and that he would call back as soon as he could. Blaine sighed. If there was anything more awkward than talking to somebody over the phone, it was having to leave a message. "Coop he didn't pick up… and I don't know what to," but before Blaine could finish his whining he heard a beep. "Uhhh…." he started.

"Intelligent," Cooper teasingly whispered, giving his brother a thumbs up.

"Uhm… hey," Blaine started again, running a hand through his hair. "It's Blaine… I uh… yeah and I decided maybe we should… yeah…we should go get that coffee sometime," Blaine rambled, finally remembering how the English language worked. He knew he probably sounded stupid and he wasn't really sure why he had lost all ability to form coherent sentences. He wasn't even really TALKING to him yet. He was only leaving him a message. "So uh… yeah call me back." Blaine recited his phone number and said goodbye, then hung up his phone.

"I'm proud of you," Cooper said teasingly, punching Blaine lightly in the arm. "You need to get out! Go do something fun!"

"And seeing my ex is the first thing on your list of 'fun things for my little brother to do'"? Blaine questioned his brother. Surely Cooper wasn't suggesting the meeting would be the most fun Blaine has ever had. Blaine would like to believe it wouldn't be horrible, but of course his mind often shot right to the worst case scenario. Even if Blaine wasn't even sure what the worst case scenario was at this point. He felt like he couldn't even begin to guess how much Kurt has changed and what kind of stories he has to tell him. He couldn't imagine having to tell Kurt his own stories – ones where he didn't chase his dream because he stayed away from NYADA and New York in general. And how that decision kept him close to home and his parents. Stories where he dropped out of college and has a daughter. Where his parents more or less refuse to acknowledge his existence. Was it the same for Kurt? Did their split change his life nearly as much as it has changed Blaine's?

Cooper laughed, "Actually number one on my list is Cedar Point. They have so mad roller coasters there. But confronting an ex is a close second." Cooper winked at his brother, but Blaine only rolled his eyes at the joke. "Oh come one Blaine. I'm kidding. You know that. I just… I think it'll be good for you. Who better to get you out of your social slump than Kurt Hummel."

"I can think of like… 2 dozen better options," Blaine exclaimed.

"You better start listing them off because until you reach 24, I'm not acknowledging your argument," Cooper stated simply.

Blaine half smiled, unable to resist his brother's humor, and opened his mouth to comment, but before he could say anything his phone went off, a classical piano piece playing along with the loud buzz of the vibrations. He looked at the number, and only recognized it because he had just dialed it a few moments ago. "Shit," he muttered. The look on Cooper's face was one of excitement and anticipation as Blaine pressed the green button that accepted the call.

"Hello," Blaine said, turning his back to his brother who would likely try to make faces at him throughout the entire phone call.

"Hey!" A familiar voice said on the other end of the call, "Sorry I didn't pick up. I didn't have your number. So I didn't know it was you," Kurt said apologetically.

"Oh it's not a problem," Blaine insisted. "I just uh… yeah… wanted to see when we could get together. If you still want to, I mean" He tried to pick his words carefully. He didn't want this to feel so forced. And he knew how forced it sounded. There was definitely a part of him that wanted to go and see Kurt, but a bigger part of him was screaming to hang up the phone before he could even get the words out. His brain was screaming and he just hoped the stuttering that resulted wouldn't make him seem crazier than he was.

"Oh yeah!" Kurt said excitedly. "Of course. Yeah… well…" Blaine couldn't help but smile a bit when Kurt stuttered too. Maybe he was just as nervous? Blaine decided not to think of other reasons, because it made him feel better believing that he wasn't the only one who was internally melting at the prospect of having coffee with the man he once promised his life to with a candy wrapper ring on Christmas. "Well I promised Finn I'd help out with Glee Club this week so… I'm available tomorrow though! Let's say… 11 at Spillin' the Beans? That's a little closer to you right?"

"Tomorrow?" Blaine asked. God that was so soon. He turned to Cooper and gave him a questioning look, putting his hand lightly over the bottom part of his phone. "_Tomorrow?" _he mouthed to his brother.

"I can babysit," Cooper said softly, knowing without Blaine having to explain that it was his biggest concern. Cooper wouldn't be going back to New York until Monday, and he would gladly sacrifice his Sunday to let his baby brother go out. He would just bring Abby with him places to help him pick up chicks. She was pretty good at that.

"Ok yeah. Sounds good," Blaine said. "Do you want to meet there or…" Blaine tried to ask but Kurt cut in.

"I can pick you up," Kurt offered quickly before adding, "If you want. I mean… it's up to you." His voice seemed eager, and that made Blaine a little bit nervous about accepting. But Spillin' the Beans was a pretty far walk and Blaine didn't have a car. And he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with public transportation. A taxi might cost quite a bit, and he could afford to save the money.

"Um… sure yeah. Yeah a ride would be nice," Blaine admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I live in the Holly Oak apartment complex."

"Oh yeah. Ok I think I know where that is," Kurt said, "Not a problem. I'll pick you up at 11 then?"

"11," Blaine repeated. "Alright… uh… I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt. Bye" Kurt said goodbye as well, and Blaine pressed the 'end' button on his phone. And before he could turn to say something to his brother, he was enveloped in a bone crushing hug.

"MY LITTLE BROTHER HAS A DATE!" Cooper half yelled, messing up Blaine's hair.

Blaine laughed and shoved Cooper off him. "Shut up. You're going to wake up Abby. AND IT'S NOT A DATE," Blaine said firmly. It wasn't a date and there wouldn't BE a date. He was almost positive of that. There was too much history, and too much had changed. And frankly, Blaine was scared shitless at just the _thought _of holding conversation with Kurt for more than a few minutes. But he had gotten through that phone call and that was a little bit further than Blaine thought he'd be able to get. So maybe the next morning wouldn't be a complete disaster.

* * *

"Oh my god," Kurt said as soon as the line went dead. "I can't believe that he called."

Mercedes looked at Kurt as if he were on drugs. "You're honestly surprised that he finally gave in? It _is _Blaine we're talking about right?"

Kurt gave Mercedes a sassy look before replying with a sigh, "I don't know. He just seemed so… weird at the music store and even over the phone you could kind of feel that his heart wasn't 100% into the decision…god I hope I'm just imagining things." Kurt chuckled and thought for a moment before continuing. "I mean I'm not expecting anything but some coffee and a conversation. I just… I want to get to know the old me again. After Adam and I broke up I feel like… I've changed a lot and maybe not for the best."

"Kurt, there's nothing wrong with you!" Mercedes insisted, "I mean, yes you're hurt, and a lot of things have changed. But I don't see that as a reason to go chasing the past."

"It's not so much chasing the past. I just… I need to remind myself of some better times when things were less complicated. When I didn't have an upscale New York apartment to move out of and when I wasn't putting my job on the line by insisting to work from home over the winter." Kurt rolled his eyes a bit.

Mercedes nodded, listening to Kurt intently. She had been trying very hard to cheer him up wince returning to Ohio. And it seemed like he was generally better day to day, but he still crashed into depression at times, and she hoped that he was doing the right thing to help cheer himself up.

"You know… I had looked at wedding rings a week before it happened," Kurt admitted out loud for the first time. Mercedes gasped softly at the new information. "I honestly thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with that man… I though… I thought everything was perfectly in place but… it wasn't. And I'm fine with it. Really. But… starting over… it's really tough to even think about let alone accomplish."

Mercedes scooted closer to Kurt on the couch as her friend let the first few tears fall. "Awe, honey," she cooed, wrapping her arms around Kurt.

"Like I said, I'm fine," Kurt insisted, "I'm crying! But I'm fine." He laughed and wiped his tears with his thumbs. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his hands around Mercedes to return her hug. "And that's why I'm here. To get used to the notion of 'starting fresh'." He released the hug, and continued explaining, "Because maybe once I _have_ to go back to New York… things won't seem so bad."

"Not to spoil the hope in your voice," Mercedes started, "But how does Blaine fit in with all of that exactly?"

Kurt paused, and stared at his hands for a moment as he played with his fingers, truly pondering his actions in regards to the curly haired man. "I guess… after what happened with me and Blaine… things seemed just as awful as are now. I thought I would spend the rest of my life with Blaine at one point too, you know." He laughed and turned to look toward Mercedes. "I guess if I can just prove to myself that in five… six years, things can be ok with Blaine and I… then it really won't be long until I can look back at the relationship I had with Adam and not feel horrible about how things ended."

Mercedes nodded and smiled. On occasion Kurt seemed wise beyond his years. She attributed that trait to his father. She couldn't argue with the logic in that, and hoped that Kurt's little get together with Blaine would give him the boost he needed to get out of his funk. "Well I hope you boys have a lovely conversation."

"Oh god, what are we even going to talk about?" Kurt asked, seemingly realizing for the first time that he would actually have to hold a _conversation_ with Blaine. "Oh shit, Mercedes what am I going to _wear?_" All of a sudden the implications behind seeing his ex were hitting Kurt like a brick wall.

Mercedes couldn't even fake a sympathetic look and just laughed, and reached over to rub a small gentle circle on Kurt's back. "Oh Kurt, it's alright. We'll pick out your outfit, and we'll practice," she said with a smile. And at that Kurt took a deep breath and visibly relaxed. He shot a small smile to his friend, although he couldn't deny the fact that his brain was screaming.


	6. Chapter 6

Abby kicked her feet simultaneously as they hung off the edge of her father's bed. Every time her heels connected with the mattress, the entire bed shifted a little. She was still in her pink pajamas despite her father's instance on getting dressed. She was clearly much more interested in her father's morning routine, and the bounciness of his mattress. She watched her father in the mirror he faced intently as he undid one of the buttons on his purple polo shirt, only to re-button it, and then unbutton it again.

When he realized he was being watched again, Blaine stuck his tongue out at the reflection of his daughter, who giggled and stuck her tongue out at him in response. Blaine smiled and turned around to face Abby and gestured to himself. "How do I look?" he asked.

Abby's face wrinkled, "You forgot your… your…" forgetting the word in the moment, Abby grabbed at the collar of her shirt by her neck.

"My bowtie?" Blaine asked with a little laugh, and Abby nodded vigorously, glad to know her message was received. Blaine looked at himself in the mirror once more and shrugged. "I think I'm going to skip the tie today, Abby. This isn't a formal affair."

Abby wasn't sure what that meant, but she was still curious as to what exactly her dad was doing today. He had explained he was leaving her with her Uncle Cooper for an hour or two, but that was really the extent of knowledge she had on the subject. "Daddy," she started, curious eyes looking on toward her father and his reflection, "Where are you goin' anyways?"

"I'm going to get breakfast with a friend from aaaallll the way back from when I was in highschool," Blaine explained. "I haven't seen him in almost 6 years."

"Is that a long time?" Abby asked, confusion wrinkling her brow.

Blaine laughed, "Yes it is. I havn't seen him since before you were even born."

"Oh," Abby mused, considering the times significance, before setting it aside for a more important matter. "Why can't I come?" she asked with a bit of a huff, crossing her arms across her chest"

Blaine laughed, and turned again to face his daughter, "I don't think you would have much fun, baby."

"But I would!" Abby insisted with a whine.

"You know, I don't think this place makes chocolate chip pancakes," Blaine told her daughter, who stared at him with a blank, disbelieving expression. "We're going to drink coffee and eat tons of broccoli!"

"Ew…" Abby stated softly, suddenly turned off by the idea of joining her father for breakfast.

Blaine chuckled at the look of disgust on Abby's face and walked over to her. "And anyways, you're going to have a super fun day with your uncle while I'm gone. And I'll only be gone for a little bit." Abby seemed content with this promise. "Are you going to be good for your uncle?" Blaine asked as he lifted Abby up to stand on the edge of the bed where she was nearly eye level with him.

"No!" Abby said with a laugh, unable to take herself seriously.

Blaine furrowed his eyebrows in a stern look, "What was that? Are you being sassy?" he asked his daughter as he dug his fingers into Abby's sides to tickle her. The little girl let out a yelp and began to squirm in a fit of giggles and squeals. She kicked and tried to push away from her father, but he was holding on too tight.

"St…st…stop it daddy!" Abby cried in between fits of laughter.

Blaine stopped just long enough to ask the little girl in his arms, "Promise to be good?"

"YES!" Abby said, still laughing, calming down from her laughing fit.

"Good," Blaine said, tickling her one more time for good measure, even though he received a bit of a dirty look for the action. "Now, do I get a goodbye kiss?"

Abby smiled, and leaned forward, kissing her dad's lips lightly, before squirming again in an attempt to get out of his grasp. "Now can you let me go!?"

"Fine," Blaine agreed, as he released his grip on the little girl. The blonde slid away, rolling off of the bed. Her bare feet hit the hardwood with a small thud, and she scurried off into the other room, presumably to find her uncle.

Blaine smiled as his daughter ran off, unable to contain the joy his little girl brought into his life. As he turned to face the mirror again, however, his face fell a bit, and the nerves kicked back in. He realized that so much about him had changed since the last time Kurt had seen him. He was more relaxed about his appearance. He didn't put that much gel in his hair, and he was simply wearing jeans and a plain shirt. Maybe he should put on a bow tie, just to get back in touch with the person Kurt knew. The person Kurt wanted to talk to. He opened his top drawer, which held an array of neatly organized pieces of fabric of every color imaginable. Just because he didn't wear them on a daily basis didn't mean Blaine didn't still love his bowties. He pulled out a light purple one, which would go well with his shirt, and threw it around his neck, trying to decide what he would do.

"Don't wear a tie, you're getting coffee not meeting the queen," a voice came from Blaine's doorway. Blaine closed his eyes and shook his head as he turned to face cooper, who was leaning on his doorframe. "Plus, you look better with a couple buttons undone."

"Shut up Cooper," Blaine said, but couldn't help but smile at his brother's wise cracks. He listened though, and folded the tie back up, and tucking it in its place in the drawer.

"Listen kid, I can tell you're nervous," Cooper said, not leaving his spot from the door. His arms crossed his chest in a firm but serious manner, though it was hard for Blaine to take him seriously since his hair was still disheveled from the night's sleep on the couch. "You shouldn't be though. I mean… it's just Kurt."

"Actually that's kind of the problem, Coop," Blaine explained with a roll of his eyes. "It's Kurt. It's… the man I expected to spend the rest of my life with. Out of the blue, on my doorstep asking to get coffee? I'm not so sure I'm emotionally ready for this." Blaine turned back in the mirror as he pressed a hand to his cheek to see if his face felt as hot as it looked.

"Blaine, I doubt he expects anything out of this. You guys are just going to talk. Like adults. About life, the weather… all that crappy adult stuff," Cooper waved his hand as to say 'it's nothing'. "Listen… just… there's a reason you dialed the phone and agreed to get coffee with him. So clearly part of you wants to talk to him. Even if it's not about anything in particular. So just go… have a good time. Reconnecting with people doesn't have to be a scary thing," Cooper said with a wink.

Blaine smiled a knowing smile as his brother turned to go back into the living room, yelling something about being a tickle monster (followed closely by squeals and laughter). Cooper was right. Blaine had to work really hard to reconnect with his entire family. He was scared, at first. It was easier with Cooper than with anybody. He and Cooper may have not gotten along as children, or even teens, but when Blaine told Cooper about his situation that resulted in Abby, Cooper was the most supportive person in the entire world. His parents weren't at first, but got used to the idea of a granddaughter very quickly. Blaine couldn't say he and his parents always saw eye to eye, but he was able to re-establish some sense of a connection with them. Blaine was used to having to reconnect, and he would just have to approach Kurt the same way.

Blaine jumped at a loud buzz from the opposite end of his dresser, followed by a generic ringtone. It could only be Kurt. Blaine had personalized the ringtones for almost everybody in his phone. He always had. He remembered that up until around the time Abby was born Kurt's was Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. He smiled sadly at the thought, and reached for his phone to answer.

"Blaine Anderson speaking," Blaine said after a long breath, mentally curing himself for always answering the phone as if he were at work. If he didn't catch himself he probably would have continued to say 'This is Westerville Records how may I help you?'.

"Hey Blaine!" a cheerful voice came through the phone. You could physically hear the smile through the voice. "It's Kurt."

"Hey Kurt," Blaine returned, "What's up?"

"I'm at your apartment complex…. I think… yeah I'm pretty sure this is it," Kurt said after taking a pause. "But you didn't tell me what apartment you are so…"

Blaine cut in as Kurt trailed off. "Oh that's fine! I'll be right there. "

"Alright," Kurt said, "I'm in the white car next to the crappy looking orange jeep with a busted taillight and a flat…is this a safe area?"

Blaine laughed "Uh… yeah… I just have some colorful neighbors. I'll be right down." He hung up and grabbed his wallet, tucking it in his back pocket. Before leaving his gave Abby one more kiss goodbye, and told her to take care of Cooper. Then he was out the door. It didn't take long at all to find Kurt leaning against the driver's side door of his sleek white Cadillac. Blaine wasn't sure himself what model or year it was, but it seemed like Kurt liked to keep it clean and new-looking. Kurt's attention was on his phone - writing a text message or checking email. Blaine took a deep breath and a couple steps forward before he was in earshot, "Hey…"

* * *

The car ride had been a little awkward at first, but by the time the men were sitting down with their coffee, the tension seemed to lift. Most of the drive Blaine was giving Kurt directions to the coffee shop, anyway. "So I see you're still a 'medium drip' guy," Kurt teased as they took a table. He sent a soft smile in Blaine's direction as the other man sat. "I guess some things don't change at all do they?"

Blaine laughed; honestly surprised Kurt had remembered his coffee order from so long ago. "I guess they don't," he agreed, adding just a bit of sugar to his coffee and giving it a stir. Oh, but so many other things did change for Blaine, and his stomach was in knots just thinking about Kurt's reaction. So instead of bringing those up right away, he decided to let Kurt do the talking for a while. "So… I guess the first thing I noticed is you're in fashion now? When did that happen?"

Kurt sipped his coffee and nodded as he took the cup away from his face. "Yeah well… when NYADA didn't work out and after that internship at Vogue I kind of found that my place might not be in music and preforming after all," Kurt started. "Don't get me wrong, I still love singing and if the right opportunity ever arises I'd go to open casting for an off Broadway play in a heartbeat. But I got into the Fashion Institute of Technology. I graduated this past May and I still work for Vouge, but I've been doing some freelance design stuff on the side." Kurt shrugged, as if nothing he said was all that impressive. "I mean I haven't seen much of my stuff come to life yet. No fashion shows or magazines. But with my 'in' at Vogue I'm pretty sure in some time I'll be able to get my name out there."

"Wow. That's… awesome," Blaine said, genuinely happy to hear that Kurt found something he loved to do, and was succeeding at it. "But… if you have all that back at New York, what are you doing here?" Blaine wrinkled his face in confusion. He was certain that there was little to no opportunity for an aspiring fashion designer in Ohio.

Kurt paused, as if carefully considering his word choice. "Personal holiday," was his response. "A really… really early Christmas." Kurt laughed at himself slightly, stirring his coffee with a spoon. "Vogue is letting me edit and write at home as long as I don't leak any upcoming issues or anything important, so it wasn't too hard for me to get a few months away."

"That's nice of them. I guess you'll never know when you'll want to come home for a while," Blaine commented. Though he did find it odd that Kurt wanted to come back to Ohio. He had fallen so deeply in love with the city when he first moved there. It was part of the reason Blaine ended up feeling emotionally distant from Kurt. "So when do you go back?"

"I'm honestly not sure yet," Kurt stated. "I'm not really in a rush. It's only October. I'll probably at least stay through Christmas." Kurt's eyes wandered a bit, as if he hadn't even considered the notion of going back yet. His eyes fell to his coffee which he was still stirring, probably some sort of nervous tick. He caught himself, and stopped, shaking his head a little as to snap out of the trance he was in. "What about you?" he asked. "I mean… you… and the store and everything? How did that happen?" Kurt knew that Blaine wanted to apply to NYADA. He wondered if he ever did and he wondered if Blaine was accepted.

"Oh well… Wes kind of threw the idea at me one day a few year back," Blaine said, trying to count back how long it had been since the store opened. "So he graduated like… 2 years back I guess… So yeah, I guess 3 years ago he found the storefront for sale and ran the idea by me. We got a few loans and stocked the store. We gave lessons on the side for a while until things really got going. More recently, we're looking for talent to actually produce a record. We have dreams of actually becoming a pretty… well-known label. That would be cool. But right now we're just loving working around music and the idea of helping other people achieve their dreams." Blaine rambled on as Kurt looked at him intently. "I guess it's kind of crazy but… we don't exactly have a lot of competition out here," Blaine added with a laugh. Sure, many details were left out about how Blaine pretty much ran the store while Wes finished business school. And how hard it was to raise a child and start a business simultaneously. But Blaine felt those details weren't needed at this point in time.

"Wow that's… really cool Blaine," Kurt said, though his tone wasn't exactly convinced.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked.

"I just… I can't help but wonder what happened to your dream of preforming," Kurt said. "I mean, it's great that you're still involved in music and everything but I'm honestly surprised you didn't come to NYADA like you had always planned."

Blaine shrugged. "Well… I didn't really apply," he told Kurt truthfully.

"Because of me?" Kurt asked, with a guilty look crossing his face.

Blaine grimaced a little before saying, "I'd be lying if I said no… but I want you to know that the decision worked out for the best. I mean… I'm in a place in my life where I'm so, so incredibly happy, Kurt. I mean I would probably be happy in New York too, but this way I have experienced so many things that I never expected. All without really leaving Ohio."

"You never even left Ohio?" Kurt asked, pretty shocked.

"Well… I went to the University of Michigan for…" Blaine started to say but Kurt cut him off.

"Well that sounds a little more like the Blaine I know," Kurt cut in, relieved with the thought that Blaine had gotten out of Ohio and experienced something different and new and got a degree and enjoyed college. Blaine forced a half smile at Kurt's relief, not wanting to finish his statement anymore. "But I guess still being in Ohio means you've made peace with your parents?" Kurt asked hopefully.

Blaine nodded and smiled, after taking a long sip of coffee to hide his embarrassment of Kurt misunderstanding him about college. This was a topic he'd be much more comfortable sharing, anyway. "Mostly," he explained. "We still have our differences - especially my dad and I. But for the most part we get along. We visit on holidays and stuff. We're almost a normal functioning family."

"Cooper too?" Kurt asked with a smile.

"Cooper too," Blaine promised, "Well… at least as function as Cooper can be." The men both laughed, knowing that the older Anderson was quite a handful. "How's Burt and Carole?" Blaine asked out of curiosity. For some time the two were more of parents to Blaine than his own were, and he was quite heartbroken to have lost that for some time. He often found himself wondering how they were doing.

"They're great," Kurt said. "Dad beat his cancer… in case you didn't know," Kurt informed Blaine. "He's been cancer free for 5 years now. And I swear Carole is just a constant ray of sunshine in all of our lives. The woman is an angel. I don't know how we'd all function without her. Especially while dad was sick." Kurt's face saddened just slightly at the memory of his father's illness, but his smile soon returned, remembering that Burt was healthy as could be and they didn't have to worry about that anymore.

"That's really great to hear, Kurt," Blaine said with a smile. "You don't know how much I worried and wondered…" Blaine paused as his phone began to buzz. He had turned the volume off, slightly afraid that he'd get a call and his weird preset ringtones would embarrass him in some way. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced down, the words HOME blinking brightly on the screen. "I uh…"

"Go ahead," Kurt said with a smile, watching as Blaine got up and stepped over to a quieter area of the shop. Kurt let his coffee cup linger on his lips as he really studied Blaine for the first time since they had arrived. He didn't want to stare and seem creepy at first. He couldn't help but notice how much more relaxed he looked. His hair wasn't cemented to his head and while Kurt adored all of Blaine's bowties, he couldn't help but find the fact that Blaine left the buttons of his polo undone pretty sexy. Kurt couldn't deny the fact that Blaine matured astronomically in looks over the 6 years that Kurt hadn't seen him. Kurt snapped out of this trance again, and let his eyes find Blaine again, not being able to help but listen in to the conversation.

"Baby…" Blaine was saying. His head turned before Kurt could hear him finish the sentence. Then he heard something about Cooper. He was not sure what. A few teenaged girls passed between where he was sitting and Blaine was standing. The next and last thing Kurt heard was "I love you too… I'll be home soon… bye." Kurt let his attention shoot back to his coffee as Blaine came back over and sat down. "Sorry," he said with a little laugh and a smile.

"Oh it's fine," Kurt insisted. Then with a sly smile added, "I couldn't help but listen in a bit. Are you seeing someone?" he asked. "I'm not trying to be prying!" he added quickly, seeing, as it was probably a strange question to ask. "I'm just curious!"

Blaine laughed, "It's fine. And no, I'm not seeing anyone." He sipped his coffee. "Actually I haven't really been on a real date in quite a while."

"I find that hard to believe," Kurt said with a little snort. "You're still gorgeous Blaine. Always were always will be." Blaine blushed a little, and ran a hand through his hair – a habit he developed when he stopped putting gel in it. "I don't see how a catch like you couldn't get any dates."

Blaine sighed, "Life isn't that simple anymore… you know?"

Kurt nodded, "Oh I know…" He started to aimlessly stir his coffee again, realizing that when he and Adam broke up he thought he'd get over it and return to casual dating in no time at all. Instead, he ended up having to leave New York because of the emotional turmoil. He snapped out of it again, "Well then who were you calling baby?" he asked with a sly look again.

"Uh…" Blaine started, his face falling a little.

"Don't lie to me Blaine Anderson!" Kurt teased. "You can tell me there's a guy in your life! That's great! Like… so beyond great. You should tell me all about him!"

"Slow down!" Blaine said with a laugh at Kurts 3rd degree. He wasn't offended, because he knew this is how Kurt behaved sometimes. He was just really curious, and enjoyed hearing stories about relationships almost as much as being in them. Blaine wished he could make up some romantic teenaged love story off the top of his head in that moment, but knew it wasn't the way to proceed. Even if he had already decided that his boyfriends name was Marco, they had met in college, and he saved him from drowning when he got tangled in some rope at the bottom of Lake Michigan. Blaine pushed the lies from his head. "I don't have a guy in my life," Blaine said honestly, making sure Kurt understood that before moving on. "I do, however, have… a girl in my life."

"A girl?" Kurt asked, eyes widening, and choking on his coffee. "Blaine I swear to god if you're just dating girls to convince your family of something or…"

"I said slow down!" Blaine exclaimed with a laugh, slightly entertained by Kurt's initial reaction. "I have a girl in my life." Blaine stated, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. "She's short, blonde, and beautiful, and she's the best thing that's ever happened to me," he explained as he opened up the piece of leather and pulling a slip of paper from one of the slots. He took a deep breath, and handed the paper to Kurt.

Kurt raised an eyebrow and hesitantly took the paper, and turned it around. There was a photo of a little girl with a big smile and blonde curls. Her face was scrunched up with laugher and her eyes shone bright. And Kurt knew those eyes. His gaze shot back up to Blaine. He didn't say anything, but his questioning look said it all.

"Her name is Abigail," Blaine told Kurt. "She's 4."

"And she's…" Kurt started, unsure exactly how to finish the question, simply from the shock.

"My daughter," Blaine finished for Kurt, pausing to see if Kurt would react any more. "She's the product of the best mistake I've made in my life. Even if I was drunk and in reality everything got really, really messy when she came around…"

"Wow…" Kurt said staring at the picture. "That's…. wow."

"Yeah I know," Blaine said. They sat in silence for a moment or two, Kurt staring at the picture of Abby and Blaine sipping his coffee, unsure of how to move the conversation from such a shocking subject.

"I don't know what to say,' Kurt finally said with a laugh. "Except… she's beautiful and… just… wow…"

Blaine nodded, taking the picture back from Kurt, understanding his speechlessness. "At first, we had decided that the baby should go up for adoption," Blaine explained. "But she was born premature and we hadn't picked a family yet. And when I held her… I fell in love. And instead of rushing a decision and putting her with a family that wouldn't take care of her… I decided I needed to do it myself. And I did," he shrugged. "I dropped out of college. I started working. 4 years later and I'm running a business while she's in school. And I wouldn't change a thing."

"That's amazing Blaine," Kurt said, all of a sudden understanding everything. Why Blaine was still in Ohio. Why his parents were a part of his life again. Why he hadn't gone into performance.

Blaine nodded, and silence ensued again. "This got weird real fast," Blaine noted.

"Yeah… sorry," Kurt said with a bit of a guilty smile.

"Listen…" Blaine said, "Maybe that's enough catching up for one day…"

"Probably," Kurt said with a chuckle.

"But if you wanted to… we could do this again sometime," Blaine offered on a whim. Telling Kurt about Abby wasn't as hard as he expected, and he couldn't deny that he genuinely enjoyed Kurt's company. He missed Kurt, and clearly they had both missed out on huge parts of one another's lives. "I'd love to see some of your desings sometime," Blaine added.

Kurt smiled smally. "That sounds nice," he said honestly. The men finished their drinks over small talk, and set up a time to meet for lunch during the week. Kurt drove Blaine back to his apartment via another awkward car ride. They made their goodbyes short and sweet. And when Blaine closed his apartment door behind him, Kurt had already had his phone out and dialing. When the call went through and the other end picked up, Kurt nearly burst with emotion.

"Oh my god Mercedes... you'll never guess…"


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt climbed over and around the boxes that cluttered the Jones residence as he followed Mercedes into her parent's kitchen. His eyes wandered across the labels scrawled in sharpie: _China, Pillows, Books._ "When are your parents moving again?" he asked aloud, losing track of where he was going for a moment in the maze of cardboard.

"Two weeks," Mercedes called from the kitchen, "But Momma's got a bit of packing fever so it seems like almost everything is ready to go." Kurt stepped into the kitchen and sure enough, everything seemed naked. The table and chairs still sat to the left of the kitchen space, and a few pots and pans littered the counters. However, the paintings that previously graced the walls and the vases that sat on the windowsill were all gone, packed away so the Jones could move to their new house located in a 55 and older community in Florida. "It's weird knowing I'm never going to be able to come home again…" Mercedes said a little bit nostalgically.

"Well I know it's not the same, but you can always stay at la casa Hummel if you grow tired of LA," Kurt offered sweetly. Mercedes smiled and nodded, knowing Kurt and his family would always welcome her. Even though 3000 miles and three time zones separated them, the two had stayed close through almost daily phone calls – no matter how short - and promises to visit one another whenever possible. Kurt loved that he could still go to Mercedes for anything, especially since living with or near Rachel could become sour sometimes.

Kurt took a seat on one of the wooden chairs as Mercedes rummaged through the cabinets and what food had survived the pre-move clean out. "So give me the dirt!" Mercedes begged, as she retrieved a box of crackers from the cabinet, and began to pour two glasses of lemonade. "You can't just yell at me that you have something to tell me over the phone and make me wait an hour for you to come all the way from Westerville to actually tell me. The suspense is killing me, Kurt!"

"I know I know!" Kurt said with a laugh. "I was freaking out. I needed to let you know I was coming over," Kurt noted as he slipped off his white jacket and hung it neatly over the back of the chair he sat on. "You know I had coffee with Blaine today. And it was so… so awkward."

"Really?" Mercedes asked with a wry face and disappointment lacing her voice as she set a glass in front of Kurt and took a seat in the chair across from him.

"Yeah…" Kurt admitted, "But it wasn't… bad… it was just weird and very… unexpected."

"How so?" Mercedes asked, bringing the cup of lemonade to her lips to take a sip.

"Blaine told me he has a daughter," Kurt said after a moment.

Mercedes nearly choked on the beverage she was drinking but recovered before spitting all over Kurt's designer shirt. "What?" she asked when she regained her composure "You're not messing with me right?"

"I'm really not!" Kurt said with a chuckle – reacting to the shock that crossed his friends face. "And you more or less reenacted my reaction." Kurt sipped his own lemonade as he let the news sink in with Mercedes. In reality, it hadn't completely sunk in with him either. "I'm not trying to be a gossip," Kurt said, "I just needed to tell somebody so I could freak out with them a bit. It's weird to think of _anybody_ from McKinley with kids, let alone _Blaine."_

"Yeah I can't really wrap my head around it either," Mercedes agreed. She shifted in her seat, and wrinkled her brow in though before adding, "I mean… as long as we're ignoring Quinn."

Kurt laughed and nodded, "That's true. Sometimes it's still hard to believe all of that madness happened in our Sophomore year." Kurt and Mercedes hadn't heard much about Quinn or Beth since graduation, and could only assume both were doing well. Kurt wished he had stayed close to more people after high school, but distance really put a strain on many of his high-school friendships.

"How did that even happen anyway? Did he tell you?" Mercedes questioned, now interested and fishing for details about Blaine and his little girl.

"Not really…" Kurt said, realizing that even the details Blaine had given him remained fuzzy. It was like his brain had shut down temporarily while Blaine was talking. "I think she's four and it's really a shame but I can't remember her name. Ally? Abby? Amy… It began with an A. Ended with a Y. I think… god I'm horrible." Kurt put his head in the palm of his hand, suddenly realizing how awful he was at retaining the information. Shocking news was something Kurt usually lived for, but for some reason he managed to block out half of what Blaine had told him about the little girl. "I think he said she was four," he added with a bit more confidence, feeling like that was a fact he remembered.

"Four? Wow," Mercedes said doing the math in her head. "What about school?" she asked.

"He dropped out after his Freshman year," Kurt said, having to do the math himself real quick to figure out how much of an education Blaine had received. "I can't even fathom how hard everything must have been for him. I can't even imagine how his parents must have reacted!" Kurt babbled a bit, only now thinking of all the real life consequences Blaine had to have gone through. He had spent so much time trying to process the fact that the little girl existed that he didn't even consider the side-effects of Blaine having a child.

"Oh Jesus, I can't even think of what my parents would do to me if I told them I was having a baby," Mercedes considered, "Let alone what they would do to the boy that knocked me up!" She laughed a bit at the though, though she was sure her father wouldn't readily approve – especially at 19 which she figured Blaine had been when all this happened. "His parents probably went nuts," Mercedes noted, knowing that Blaine's parents weren't the most understanding while Blaine was in high school. They were nice enough, just somewhat strict, and from what Mercedes could gather, they didn't always take the time to try and understand their son and his interests.

"He said that his relationship with his parents is mostly normal…" Kurt noted, remembering having asked Blaine about it. "I'm not sure exactly what that means, but Blaine seems ok with it." Kurt shrugged, knowing there was probably more to it than 'normal'. Though being away and out of Blaine's life for so long made Kurt feel like enough had changed that he couldn't assume anything about Blaine or his family. He really didn't even have a reason to be concerned about it, because clearly Kurt and Blaine had fallen out enough that they couldn't even really be considered friends. They probably couldn't even be considered acquaintances. Kurt wasn't sure what they were, but they weren't that close. They had drifted so far as to allow Blaine's life to change as drastically as having a daughter, and Kurt had not heard the news nor cared to search for it. That is, he didn't care until he walked into Westerville records a week ago.

"Who the hell is the kids mother?" Mercedes asked as if finally realizing that a gay man couldn't reproduce asexually, and Blaine had to have sex with a woman in order to have a child. The look of confusion on Mercedes face made Kurt laugh and subsequently lightened the mood.

"I have no idea," Kurt said with a laugh, "I really didn't get the full story and I'm not sure it's any of my business." Mercedes nodded, understanding the question was probably a little out of line, as well as poorly worded. Though it was a legitimate question, and something Kurt had been wondering himself, he would never be able to ask Blaine because it seemed like it might be a sore subject, or an impossibly awkward story. Kurt sighed, before continuing, "She's beautiful though. She has Blaine's eyes."

There was a prolonged silence, neither Kurt nor Mercedes knowing how to proceed. "So now what?" Mercedes asked.

Kurt didn't even have to hear what Mercedes was referring to in order to give the answer she was searching for. "We're going to lunch later this week. I don't know why I feel like I should…" Kurt told her. It was like after Blaine had revealed such huge news, Kurt couldn't just ignore him again and pretend the meeting had never happened – especially since he was the one who pushed so hard to have coffee in the first place. "I don't know if we'll keep meeting up. But for now, I guess, I'm enjoying his company. And it gets my mind off of Adam for a while so I'm not going to deny the offer."

Mercedes nodded as Kurt spoke. And when he finished she advised him, "Just don't get too attached to the idea of being friends with him again Kurt. Eventually you're going to go back to New York…"

"Right…" Kurt agreed, still dreading the day he'd go back and move his stuff out of the apartment which was now solely Adam's. "But I'm working from Ohio until after New Years. That's nearly 3 months I have to fill up with distractions."

"Blaine is more than a distraction, Kurt. He's a human. And if you're going to try and be his friend again you need to treat him like more than an excuse to go out and forget about Adam." Mercedes words snapped slightly in order to get her point across. Kurt wasn't intentionally considering a 'friendship' with Blaine only to propel himself through three months of failed-relationship-induced grief. However the more he talked about continuing to visit Blaine, the more Mercedes believed that was the underlying issue.

Kurt sighed, and leaned his face against the back of his hand, "I know." Blaine could never be a proper 'rebound' – emotionally, mentally, or physically. Blaine had meant so much to Blaine, and Kurt could never forget anything about him. And he knew that as soon as he started using Blaine as a distraction and nothing else, guilt would overtake him. He wasn't ready to spill his heart out to Blaine either, as much as he wished he could talk about his own life and get some of the demons off his chest. "I promise I won't let it get to that," Kurt said. "I know part of me actually wants to catch up with him, though. And if that leads to some sort of rekindled friendship, then so be it!"

Mercedes laughed at Kurt who's face wrinkled with concentration as he made his promise. "Fine, fine!" she said, "I believe you. I just want you to keep your head out of the clouds while you're here, Kurt."

"Will do."

"I think it went well," Blaine said as he looked through his fridge for the lemonade he had made the other night. He pulled the pitcher out and grabbed a clean glass from a cabinet to pour himself some of the beverage. "We just chatted. Didn't really talk about anything too heavy."

"That's good," Cooper said from his place leaning on the counter. "How'd he look? Still dreamy as ever?" Cooper was only half-joking as he gave his little brother the 3rd degree. Cooper knew Blaine never 100% got over Kurt. The only think that brought him close was the birth of Abby. So much of Blaine's time and energy went into raising the little girl that he didn't have it in him to even think about Kurt most of the time. That is until he showed up in Ohio again.

"He looked good," Blaine said, not about to try and mask that fact. "He sounded good too, but we didn't really get a chance to talk about him or why he's in Ohio."

"Interesting," Cooper said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Usually all Kurt wanted to do was talk about himself!"

"Not always," Blaine scolded Cooper for making fun of Kurt. "But yeah he really managed to keep the subject on me and how I was doing and then I told him about Abby and…"

"You told him? What'd he say?" Cooper asked, having thought that Blaine would have managed to sneak around the subject as he did with many of his dates and sometimes even old friends.

"Honestly he didn't say a whole lot… he choked on his coffee," Blaine explained with a laugh. "Even though he tried to play it off like the news was completely normal I could tell he was internally freaking out. And I'm sure he's off telling Rachel or somebody at this point. I'm not sure who he's still friends with from high school but somebody's getting an earful."

Cooper laughed, happy hearing that it seems like for the most part Kurt hadn't changed. "Well I'm glad it was a good time."

"It was," Blaine confirmed, "And he's going to meet me for lunch again sometime this week."

"Really?" Cooper asked, a smiled crossing his face, "that's awesome B!"

"Don't' look too far into this, Coop," Blaine said narrowing his eyes, knowing his brother was thinking that the coffee and lunch was going to mean more than it did. "This doesn't mean anything. I'm just catching up with an old friend. That's it."

"I know, I know," Cooper whined with a roll of his eyes. "I'd pester you about it more, but I'm going to miss my flight if I stick around too long." Cooper had 2 O'clock flight back to New York. His bags were already packed and sitting by the door, and the cab had been called as soon as Blaine came back from breakfast. It would be outside of the apartment any moment now.

Cooper walked over into the livingroom where Abby was contently playing with her dolls in the corner. He picked her up and hung her upsidedown, causing Abby to yelp in surprise. Turning her right side up, Cooper kissed her on the cheek multiple times and squeezed her in a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you, munchkin," Coop said in a loving voice, "But I'll visit soon."

"Pinky promise?" Abby asked, sticking out her hand, offering Cooper her smallest finger. Cooper smiled, wrapped his pinky around the little girls, and gave her one last hug before letting her back down to the floor. Then he walked over to Blaine again, and gave his brother a hug just as a beep came from outside. "Taxi's here. Gotta jet," he grabbed his bags and opened the door. "Love you, B. Text me if you need anything. And keep me updated on all things Kurt."

"Love you too Coop," Blaine said as he picked up Abby who had come running over after saying goodbye to her uncle. He walked to the door and watched Cooper leave, waving to the man as the taxi drove off.

"Can we go to New York and visit Uncy Coop?" Abby asked her dad with hopeful eyes once the taxi was out of sight.

"Maybe someday, squirt," Blaine said, ruffling his daughter's hair.


End file.
